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The World Parkinson Congress 2019 will be held at the Kyoto International Conference Center, Kyoto, Japan from 4–7 June, 2019. The triennial World Parkinson Congress unites the global Parkinson’s community of clinicians, specialist therapist, carers and people living with the condition, for a scientific and educational four-day programme. Visit the WPC2019 website and the hashtag #WPC2019 for more information.

World Parkinson Congress 2019 Bloggers: Tim Hague

Perspectives

Author: Tim Hague SrPublished: 18 April 2018

Prep: Cook: Serves:

In the fourth in our series of profiles of the bloggers supporting the World Parkinson Congress 2019, we talk to Tim Hague Sr, who blogs about how perseverance and positivity can help people with Parkinson’s

Do you have a particular audience in mind when you’re writing?

Generally, the Parkinson’s community at large, but also those who may not be familiar with the disease.

Is there an aspect of Parkinson’s that you’re most passionate about?

Absolutely, that would be all things pertaining to living well with the disease.

How widely read is your blog and in which countries?

My mailing list is around 1,600 and social media contacts are roughly 4,000.

Have you been surprised by the global audience you’ve attracted?

It has helped tremendously to have The Amazing Race Canada experience on my side. My son, Tim Hague Jr, and I were contestants on the reality television show. We had to complete a range of endurance feats, while making our way around the world. We went on to win!

Which has been the most controversial?

No real controversies!

Talk us through your routine: when do you find time to blog?

I have been working on a book for the last few years, which is entitled ‘Perseverance: The Seven Skills You Need to Survive, Thrive, and Accomplish More Than You Ever Imagined’ and it has now been published. In it, I write: “I’ve learned to persevere. This is an important point to hold on to: perseverance can be learned. We can grow in our ability to withstand difficult times. We can learn to push forward in the face of failure. We can develop the determination to keep slogging ahead until we reach that remarkable day when someone in our life points out how ‘lucky’ we’ve been.”

I also run my own charity. Because I’m so busy, any other writing has been horribly difficult to do.

What physical challenges do you face in writing and do you use any technology to support you?

Typing can be a serious challenge during ‘off’ periods, so I’ve started using speech recognition and dictation software Dragon Dictation.

What do you hope people will take away from reading your blog?

Encouragement, inspiration and meaningful ways in which they can have a better quality of life with Parkinson’s.

How did you get involved with the WPC?

I was asked to speak at the WPC Montreal, Canada in 2013, after we won The Amazing Race Canada.

Can you share any memorable moments from the last one you attended?

The people at WPC are my favourite. You get to meet so many interesting people from around the world who are working with you, and for you.

What are you most looking forward to at WPC2019?

I love to travel and I’m very excited to be going to Kyoto, Japan.

Watch Tim Hague Sr’s TEDx talk below.

Need to Know

Name: Tim Hague Sr

Blog: Tim Hague Sr

Region: Canada

Describe yourself in a sentence: I’m a 53-year-old father of four and grandfather of one, who enjoys being physically active, writing and public speaking.

Wingin’ It’ for Parkinson’s

Two years ago, Parkinson’s Life spoke to Tim Hague Jr about his joint effort – with his father Tim Hague Sr – to raise money for Parkinson’s by hosting a chicken wing eating contest.

Tim Hague Jr said: “People were having so much fun and were so engaged. It was an absolute blast! It didn’t feel like they were coming out of obligation, but that they actually wanted to be there of their own accord. Also, my dad loved it! It’s so different from any other event out there and everyone really embraced the occasion.”

One thousand ounces of beer and 800 wings later, they raised a total of CAN$22,165.

Share this story

The World Parkinson Congress 2019 will be held at the Kyoto International Conference Center, Kyoto, Japan from 4–7 June, 2019. The triennial World Parkinson Congress unites the global Parkinson’s community of clinicians, specialist therapist, carers and people living with the condition, for a scientific and educational four-day programme. Visit the WPC2019 website and the hashtag #WPC2019 for more information.

IN THE NEWS

A study published in the ‘Journal of Clinical Investigation’ has suggested mechanisms that lead to Parkinson’s in adulthood, may begin much earlier than previously thought. The study, carried out by Northwestern University, Illinois, US, researched movement disorder spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 by genetically engineering a mouse to mirror the human disease. Researchers found that altering circuity in the cerebellum – an area of the brain that controls movements – set the stage for later susceptibility to neurological disease. Professor Puneet Opal, who worked on the study, said: “This is the first discovery of alterations in an adult-onset spinocerebellar disorder that stems from such early developmental processes. “This may well be generalisable to a whole host of other diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.”

Global Kinetics receives vital funding

Australian-based health company Global Kinetics has received a $AUS 7.75 million investment from the Australian Federal Government’s Biomedical Translation Fund. The investment will be used to commercialise its Parkinson’s KinetiGraph – a smartwatch-style device that continually tracks the involuntary movements of those living with the condition. In addition to the sum from the Australian government, Global Kinetics also announced they are to receive a grant from The Michael J Fox Foundation, Shake It Up Australia Foundation and Parkinson’s Victoria. Mark Frasier, senior vice president of research programmes at The Michael J Fox Foundation, said: “The experience of Parkinson’s varies day-to-day, hour-to-hour. An objective tool, such as the wearable PKG technology, that passively collects data on the experience of Parkinson’s disease could give patients and their doctors greater insight to calibrate treatment plans and improve outcomes.”

Smartphone app detects severity of Parkinson’s symptoms

A smartphone app– created by researchers from Johns Hopkins University, the University of Rochester Medical Centre and Aston University – can detect the severity of symptoms in people with Parkinson’s, according to a recent study. The study, which appeared in medical journal ‘JAMA’, found that the HopkinsPD app generated severity score levels which strongly correlated with standard movement tests given by physicians. HopkinsPD is expected to help medical professionals analyse Parkinson’s symptoms. Dr Ray Dorsey, neurologist at the University of Rochester, said: “Until these types of studies, we had very limited data on how people function on Saturdays and Sundays because patients don’t come to the clinic. “We also had very limited data about how people with Parkinson’s do at two o’clock in the morning or 11 o’clock at night because, unless they’re hospitalised, they’re generally not being seen in clinics at those times.”